Summer Tour – public events on civil justice changes

The Council is holding a series of public events in July and August to discuss far reaching proposals that will transform Scotland’s civil justice system.

The informal, one-hour sessions will be held in courthouses across the country to discuss the comprehensive rewrite of the civil procedure rules.

The New Civil Procedure Rules – First Report, which was published in May, outlines the Council’s initial thinking on a number of important and over-arching matters. It provides for the form and structure of the new rules together with a new case management model for defended cases. The proposed changes will challenge existing ways of working and existing business structures.

The Council is currently making arrangements for membership appointments to working groups to take forward some of the work flowing from the First Report.

The public sessions will provide an opportunity to hear more about the Council’s key recommendations and plans for the next 12 months, and to provide feedback.

“The public’s changed expectations of what services should look like, and how they should work, are key to understanding what fairness will mean in 2020,” said the Council Chair, the Rt. Hon. Lord Carloway. “The public has become used to services which are increasingly swift and responsive, automated, available anywhere and accessible in a variety of different ways. Platitudes about justice being seen to be done are not a complete response to a generation that sees no unfairness in transacting some of its most important business entirely online.

“The task is an ambitious, but necessary one.”

The events will cover:

an overview of the Rules Rewrite Project

key recommendations of The New Civil Procedure Rules First Report

the Council's next steps including work streams and a detailed procedural narrative.

The public sessions will be held as follows:

Date Sheriff Court

25 July

Kirkcaldy

27 July

Glasgow

08 August

Aberdeen Civil Justice Centre

10 August

Airdrie

16 August

Dundee

17 August

Edinburgh

24 August

Stirling

31 August

Paisley

All the events will take place from 4.30pm – 5.30pm.

Places are limited. You can register to attend by contacting scjc@scotcourts.gov.uk, indicating which session you would like to attend and in what capacity e.g. solicitor, sheriff clerk, voluntary organisation, member of the public, etc.